The Foxconn factory has been rocked by a huge explosion, killing two people and injuring 16. The factory in Chengdu, China is one of the largest technology manufacturing plants in the world, and the explosion happened in a building where the Apple iPad 2 was being produced.

A Foxconn spokesperson has confirmed to Gizmodo that two workers were killed and 16 others were injured:

We can confirm that at approximately 7 pm on May 20, there was an explosion at our Chengdu campus. At this point, we can also confirm that there were two fatalities with injuries to 16 other employees. We are working with medical officials to provide treatment to the injured employees and we are working with government and law enforcement officials to contact the families of all employees affected by this tragedy.

The situation has been brought under control by the fire department and the cause of this explosion is being investigated by local police officials. Foxconn is cooperating fully with that investigation.

Production has been suspended at the site of the explosion until the completion of the investigation. The safety of our employees is our highest priority and we will do whatever is required to determine and address the cause of this tragic accident.

There were apparently hundreds of workers in the building when the explosion took place, so this devastating incident could have been even worse. Apple have stopped production of the iPad 2 for the time being, with Steve Dowling, a spokesman for Cupertino, California-based Apple saying “We are working closely with Foxconn at this point to understand what caused this terrible event. We are deeply saddened by the tragedy.”

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